MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia condemns the recent string of terrorist attacks in Libya and calls for coordinated efforts against terrorism in the Middle East, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
"Moscow firmly condemns these crimes and expresses empathy and solidarity with the Libyan people. We reaffirm the need for urgent and coordinated international efforts to eliminate the terrorist threat in Libya and the Middle East as a whole," the ministry said in a statement.
The instability that has plagued Libya since 2011 has facilitated the emergence of numerous militant groups, including the Islamic State (ISIL) jihadist organization, which is outlawed in a range of states, including Russia.
On Thursday, a vehicle was detonated near a military training camp in the northwestern Libyan city of Zliten. ISIL, known as Daesh in the Arab world, claimed responsibility for the attack that left some 70 people dead.
According to the United Nations, ISIL affiliates have also been carrying out attacks on oil facilities near the port of Sidra in central Libya in recent days.
